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Book Review: "Double Shot" by Erynn Mangum

Summary from BN.com: Now that Maya Davis is engaged to her longtime friend and sweetheart, Jack, there should be no more worrying about the future, no more questioning God. Everything should be perfect, right? Actually, it’s just the opposite: Things are complicated. Where are they going to live? What kind of wedding do they want?

And when Jack is offered a once-in-a-lifetime job in Seattle, things begin to unravel even more. Can Maya trust that God is in control even when things seem to be a disastrous mess?

In danger of being a Bridezilla? Can't get enough of My Fair Wedding or Say Yes to the Dress? Well if you're in the mood for weddings, this is a great book for you. As the third book in the Maya Davis series, it's finally time for Maya and Jack to start planning their own wedding. There's lots of talk about dresses, flowers, cakes, etc but not in a Bridezilla type of way because Maya is really laid back about everything. I really liked that too because while she does show interest, she's not obsessive over it. I feel like even though she's excited about the wedding, she's more interested in the marriage. The wedding planning is fun to read and reminded me of just a few years ago when I was planning my own marriage. Also equally as enjoyable is all the scenes from the coffeehouse. I love reading about the coffee and cinnamon rolls. I would totally want to hang out at Cool Beans.

I only had a small qualm while reading this book. The only thing that gets me is that everything happens so fast. Jack and Maya don't want a long engagement yet they haven't been dating very long. I know that they have been friends for a long time but I still feel like they didn't really know each other as a couple. This is clearly shown when Jack gets his promotion but Maya is really unsure about wanting to move. Their counseling sessions didn't really seem to go in depth and I still feel like there are many issues that have not been discussed that may come up in the future. I understand that some people like having short engagements but I feel like in almost all Christian fiction books, people fall in love fast, get engaged quickly, get married a few months later and then immediately have kids. I know that there are many people who do all this in this way, but it's not a representation of all Christians. While I enjoyed this book very much because I am one of those people who didn't follow that plan, I feel a bit slighted. I'm not saying that one way is better than the other but since this type of relationship happens so much in Christian fiction, it paints a skewed view of the religion as a whole. Another very small pet peeve is Maya's dislike of fruit or basically anything healthy.

Besides this, this a good chick lit novel. It's fun, light and frothy (just like one of Maya's drinks!). I will admit I was a bit worried that the plot would go in a whole other direction with Ethan's character but thankfully it did not. I'm a bit sad to see the characters go as I would have loved to read at least one more book focusing on the first few months of married life. Mangum does a have a new book coming out later this year so hopefully in the future the newlyweds will make a cameo appearance.

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